It was a case of so near yet so far for India’s ace men’s shuttler Lakshya Sen, as he fell at the final hurdle of the All England Open Badminton Championships for a second time (after 2022), going down 15-21, 20-22 to Chinese Taipei’s Lin-Chun Yi on this occasion.
The World No. 12 admitted he was proud of his performance in Birmingham, but also felt disheartened, since he had entered the tournament with the belief of going the distance.
‘Emotional week’
“It has been a good week, but also an emotional one. Having come this close [to winning], I am proud, but getting into the final for a second time and not winning feels disheartening,” Sen said during an online interaction on Tuesday.
Sen contrasted his experience of playing this final with his previous foray into the All England summit clash in 2022 (when he lost 10-21, 15-21 to Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen).
“The first time when I reached the All England final, I was dreaming about playing in such a big event, and I was simply enjoying the moment and playing without any expectations. But this time around, I had that belief throughout the tournament that I could win it. I was also obviously better prepared this time [in terms of experience], to know what’s coming and how to play in these [high] pressure matches,” said the 24-year-old shuttler
who hails from Almora, Uttarakhand.
Gruelling semi-final
The 2022 Commonwealth Games gold-medallist also reiterated how his gruelling 97-minute semi-final victory against Canada’s Victor Lai (21-16, 18-21, 21-15) where he battled cramps and a bruised finger, had left him physically drained for the summit clash. “The semi-final took a toll on the body, especially the cramps. It was too hard to get back to 100 per cent for the next day [the final],” Sen said. He also explained how tough it was to get past Lai: “He’s new on the circuit, so people are still trying to read him. He’s quite strong with his defence, he moves across the court very easily, if you have to put the shuttle past him, you need to play one extra shot against him, just to set yourself up for a big [winning] smash.”
Two
No. of Indians to reach the All England Open final twice; Lakshya Sen (runner-up in 2022 and 2026) and Prakash Padukone (winner in 1980 and runner-up in 1981)
